MPs Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy arrived in Delhi on Sunday ahead of the rebel TMC parliamentarians' meeting with the Lok Sabha speaker to stake claim for "real Trinamool"
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NEW DELHI — MPs Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy arrived in Delhi on Sunday ahead of the rebel TMC parliamentarians' meeting with the Lok Sabha speaker to stake claim for "real Trinamool" even as TMC leadership asserted that there's no law allowing a separate parliamentary group.
The rebel MPs are also likely to hold a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday, sources said.
At the Delhi airport, both Roy and Ghosh refused to talk to the media.
Ghosh said, "I would answer the people of my constituency, not to you".
The developments came a day after senior TMC leader and veteran parliamentarian Sudip Bandyopadhyay, regarded as one of Mamata Banerjee's closest aides, joined the rebel camp after meeting Union Ministers Amit Shah and Bhupender Yadav in Delhi.
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Amid the deepening turmoil, the TMC also carried out a fresh organisational reshuffle, removing Ghosh, Roy and Bandyopadhyay from key party positions.
Arnab Banerjee was appointed president of the Trinamool Youth Congress, replacing Ghosh, while Kaliganj MLA Alifa Ahmed replaced Roy as the president of the party's women's wing.
In another significant change, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh was named president of the party's North Kolkata organisational district, replacing Bandyopadhyay.
The party also named senior MP Saugata Roy as chief adviser to its Lok Sabha wing, which now comprises the MPs still loyal to Banerjee.
Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy are aligned with the dissident camp, which claims the support of 20 of the TMC's 28 Lok Sabha members.
Rebel MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia said the group would meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday and seek recognition as the "real TMC" parliamentary group.
"We have submitted the letter. On Monday, we will go to the speaker and stake our claim to form the real TMC parliamentary group. We will ask the speaker to give recognition to our claim," Basunia said earlier.
The TMC, however, rejected the rebels' contention and maintained that the anti-defection law does not permit formation of a separate group within Parliament.
Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said there was "no legal provision" for a separate group and argued that MPs could face disqualification unless their original political party merged with another party under provisions of the Tenth Schedule.
"The crucial condition is that the original party has to merge with another party. There is no legal provision for a 'separate group' inside Parliament or an assembly while sitting on an MP or MLA seat won on the original party's name and symbol," she said in a post on X on Sunday.
"The law is clear. No separate group inside the House on the same symbol is legal. Merge with a new party or be disqualified," Ghose added.
In another post, she said, "Fair-weather 'politicians' who enjoy the fruits of collective success but abandon the collective the moment challenges arise, reveal a horrible moral and ethical deficit." She said the rebel MPs should, "Do the right thing: resign your seat".
TMC MP Mahua Moitra also took a swipe at Bandyopadhyay over his joining the rebel camp, questioning his explanation about his whereabouts before he was seen at Yadav's residence in Delhi.
The TMC has been grappling with a major rebellion among its legislators and parliamentarians following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.